Budget boosts Australia's transformation to a renewables superpower

The Albanese Government’s second Budget will help to unlock Australia’s potential as a renewable energy superpower with significant investments in clean energy industries and jobs.

Australia’s biggest opportunity for growth and prosperity is the global shift to clean energy.

By acting now – our resources, our regions and our ingenuity will help power the world.

The global investment landscape for renewable energy and clean energy manufacturing has recently transformed through significant international policies.

The Government is taking action in this Budget to support Australia’s growing clean industries to compete and thrive, and realise the opportunities of the transformation to net zero emissions.

The 2023‑24 Budget provides an additional $4 billion to power Australia’s transformation into a renewable energy superpower – taking the Albanese Government’s total investment in this ambition to more than $40 billion.

New investment includes:

• Our $1.3 billion Household Energy Upgrades Fund and $310 million Small Business Energy Incentive that will encourage and support households and small businesses to make energy saving upgrades.
• Our $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart program to make Australia a world‑leading hydrogen producer by accelerating large‑scale renewable hydrogen projects. Australia already has the largest pipeline of renewable hydrogen projects in the world. The Hydrogen Headstart will bridge the commercial gap for early projects, putting renewable hydrogen on a path to scale and supporting future export and manufacturing opportunities.
• Our Guarantee of Origin scheme will enable industry to track and certify emissions of products, and when they are made with Australian renewable energy, so we can compete for net zero markets and supply chains.
• Our national Net Zero Authority will ensure the workers, industries and communities that have powered Australia for generations can seize the opportunities of Australia’s net zero transformation.
• $14.8 million to establish the Powering Australia Industry Growth Centre to support local manufacturing of renewable energy technology.
• Importantly, the Government will also provide $5.6 million to support further work on the best ways to leverage Australia’s competitive strengths in renewable energy, critical minerals and our highly skilled workforce to accelerate our clean industrial and manufacturing capabilities, with further actions to be identified by the end of 2023.

This builds on:

• More than $23 billion to power Australia with clean, cheap energy – growing and modernising our electricity grid, boosting energy performance and supporting electrification.
  • Our $20 billion Rewiring the Nation program will unlock investment in Australia’s electricity grid and deliver more priority transmission projects.
  • Our $800 million in support for electric vehicles, including support for the introduction of a fuel efficiency standard, will drive electrification in our transport system.

• Around $17 billion to power net zero industries and jobs – capturing opportunities in hydrogen, critical minerals and upstream industries, and realising low emission growth opportunities in our regions.
  • Up to $3 billion from the National Reconstruction Fund targeted towards renewables and low emissions technologies.
  • Our $1.9 billion Powering the Regions Fund will ensure net zero drives growth across our regions that have traditionally powered Australia.
  • Investing $57.1 million in Critical Minerals International Partnerships to strengthen strategic and commercial supply chains, building on the $2 billion Critical Minerals Facility and $1 billion targeted to value‑add in resources under the National Reconstruction Fund.

The Albanese Government has a considered, coordinated plan to transform our energy system and broaden our industrial base. We want to bring cleaner, cheaper energy to Australian homes and businesses, set a course for new renewable export opportunities, and maximise our competitive advantages.

Australia’s great opportunity lies not just in extracting and exporting the resources that we have and that the world needs, but in moving our way up and along the value chain through processing, refining, manufacturing and recycling – all powered by renewable energy.

Australia has exactly what the world needs, exactly when the world needs it.

The Albanese Government is determined to make sure that this historic opportunity translates into a broader and deeper industrial base, and long term prosperity for our country and for our people.

Our Budget is all about creating more opportunities for more people in more parts of Australia, laying the foundations for growth and building a stronger, more resilient economy.